Abyssal Awakening

With the battle nearing its end, Alice made her way back to Allura while Ria continued to go wild as she had more stamina and control over her powers. Compared to Alice, she was better at a battle of attrition.

The only thing holding her back was how much stress her body could withstand by constantly charging herself with lightning.

Sitting up on the clock tower again, Alice could see Gin keeping his eye on Ria while Allura scanned the battlefield for anything that interested her.

"Now, let's talk about your fights and what you learned. First of all, I'll need to scold you a little because of two points." Allura sighed as she flicked Alice on the head, almost causing her to fall off but managed to stabilise herself.

"I do believe my words were for you to experiment with the first Sigil because we don't know the synergy and the second Sigil was dangerous. The reason why I didn't step in earlier is because I can't always be there to cover for you. So you need to sort your own stuff out without me interfering.

I'm glad you managed to find a way to control the flames but either way, it was still very dangerous for you." Allura said as she held up one finger.

"The second point is for copying my skill. You don't know what kind of power it was capable of and yet you still tried it. Reckless as hell and you could've blown yourself up due to the backlash of not controlling the skill properly.

Thankfully, you succeeded so I didn't need to find a healer for you but be careful when you try to copy techniques you have no idea about." Allura shook her head as Alice nodded, knowing that she was a little too reckless this time.

It was good that things turned out well but she had ignored the warnings and she could tell that Allura was both upset and relieved that nothing dangerous happened.

"A bit ironic coming from you but I suppose even you understand the dangers." Gin shrugged as Allura replied by kicking him off the clocktower.

"M*therf*cker!!!" Gin shouted as he didn't expect her to kick him like this.

"As I was saying, I'm glad things turned out well but be careful about copying techniques without understanding them properly, okay?" Allura sighed as she scratched her hair. She couldn't say much since she was just as if not more reckless than Alice.

'I suppose this is what my old teacher and her highness thought when I was growing up.' Allura thought to herself fondly before shaking her head.

"So, would you like to share what you've learned thus far?" Allura asked, knowing that Alice was probably feeling excited about her discoveries.

And just as expected, she could see Alice's eyes light up at that moment and started to explain everything she knew about her power. How the fire worked and how it changed the effects of her first Sigil.

As she was listening, Allura couldn't help but think about the deadly potential her flames held. The fact that she could momentarily cut off the Sigil's power means that those who are able to survive due to this power will lose that benefit.

'Seems like Alice might be developing towards having Anti Hunter type Sigils. If she unlocks a resonance, I wonder what kind of abilities it'll give her by then. Even with just these two Sigils, she could probably fight the ice girl she fought against at the training hall and win pretty easily…' Allura thought to herself as she might have to adjust their schedule a little.

Her original idea was for them to leave this city once the battle cleared up. But now that Alice had explained what she had learned, it might be a good chance for her to see her own improvements.

'I wonder… Perhaps I can bribe the academy and have them fight a spar with Alice. I'll let Alice figure out how she wants to do it since I can't keep holding her hand.'

Thinking up to this point, Allura nodded her head as the next destination was clear. It was the academy tower of Zadash.

She hasn't made it a secret that she's not fond of their methods but as it stands, they are some of the best people to teach Alice what she needs to know.

And that is experience in fighting other Hunters.

"Alice!" Allura called out as Alice turned her head.

"Hm? What is it?"

"I have a new assignment for you." Allura grinned, knowing that Alice would struggle. Not with the fighting but rather communication between people.

"Once Ria comes back and the fighting finishes up, I want you to schedule a duel with some of the best students within the Academy. Have Neal vouch for you. I want you to be able to defeat students with three Sigils and a resonance like the ones we saw the other day. However, this time me and Gin won't be around so it's all up to you and Ria.

We can't keep holding your hand after all, you must learn the ways of the people yourself." Allura chuckled as Gin paused.

"Huh? Why wouldn't I be around?" Gin pointed at himself in confusion.

"Because you and I will be busy dealing with the aftermath of this fight. Surely you felt it too, right? Or are you getting old?" Allura raised an eyebrow.

"You mean the guy peeping on the fight? Yeah, I felt it." Gin nodded. Not only that, it was a familiar gaze, one that sent a chill down his back. There are only a handful of people who could cause him to sweat and they were all Abyss Lord level Hunters.

One man comes to mind but if it was indeed him, then Allura was correct. They'll need to leave this city for a while and distance themselves from Ria and Alice so the stronger Hunters won't target the two girls.

'Ria isn't known to many people, especially not those that are higher up. There have been many to impersonate as my family to gain fame and fortune so I doubt the Eclipse b*stards will give a sh*t. But it's better to be safe than sorry.'

"Well then there you go. The two of us will be sorting some loose ends up and having some fake trails set up around the Abyss. With you showing yourself in Zadash, there will be some level of interest generated but if you show up elsewhere, it'll hopefully balance out the interest in this area." Allura explained as Gin nodded.

"Alright. I'm assuming we're going to be hiring the services of the main branch of the Underground?"

"Bingo." Allura smiled, snapping her finger and pointing at Gin.

"They're a little expensive but nothing we can't deal with."

"Urg… Fine. I'll set off once I say goodbye to Ria. It's going to be a while before we can show up again then if we have to set up fake trails." Gin scratched his hair in annoyance as he didn't want to be away from his granddaughter if possible.

"Oh it'll be fine. It's not like we'll be completely blind on what they're going through. Plus, can't you always send letters?" Allura waved her hand dismissively, but Gin only rolled his eyes.

Talking between themselves for a little while, they spotted Ria making her way back from the battlefield.

Compared to how she was when she left, she seemed considerably gloomier and more annoyed by her current state of attire. After the battle, her clothes were barely intact as countless rips and tears could be seen across the skirt.

"***** More durable they said, made from great materials they claimed, what bullsh*t. Couldn't even handle me fighting 3 of the damn beasts at once. After it got scratched my own damn lightning started to fry the f*cking thing." Ria's curses could be heard as Gin snapped his finger, tearing the space apart and bringing out another set of clothes for Ria.

Looking at one another, Alice and Allura couldn't help but laugh with the mighty Abyss Lord of Death being a portable wardrobe for his granddaughter.

Once Ria got changed, they noticed that the final clean up for the battle was beginning as most of the dangers had been cleared up.

Despite the main danger, the White Death, being taken care of by Gin, fighting the army of beasts still caused deaths on the Hutner's side. Mixed with the corpses of beasts were the cold lifeless bodies of brave Hunters who did not flee and fought for their city.

Looking at all of the deaths across the battlefield, Alice couldn't help but be confused by their sentiment.

She wasn't sure why they would risk themselves for the city. To her, there was no need to die this kind of death. To put it bluntly, it seemed a little wasteful.

"You seem confused. Care to share a nugget of your thoughts?" Allura asked, noticing Alice's eyes linger on the corpses.

"Why do they sacrifice themselves like this? A city can always be rebuilt. Most of the people have left already. Now their family will come back to the city and be greeted by their corpses." Alice asked with a slight frown on her face.

"Hmm… You could say it's because they want to protect the place they lived in and belonged to. They want to make sure it doesn't reach their friends and family. To you, this city is just the first stop of your journey. For some of them, this city may mean more. It might mean everything they lived for. We can't say.

But what we can do is respect their choice in risking their life for what they believe in. One day, when you have a place or people you wish to protect, you'll understand their feelings." Allura smiled, patting Alice's head.

With so much of her childhood being isolated in a prison by the Zenia's, Allura wants to make sure Alice understands the nuances of human emotion and why people do what they do.

Hearing her response, Alice could only nod despite still not understanding why they would throw their lives away like this. Perhaps in the future she would, but right now she didn't see the goal behind such actions.

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